30 Days to Easy Gluten-Free Living: Make Your Own Convenience Foods

Diane over at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang is hosting an incredible series during the month of May called 30 Days to Easy Gluten-Free Living. This series came about during a conversation among several of the gluten-free food bloggers. We decided that we were tired of hearing the same old complaints about the gluten-free lifestyle – that it’s really complicated, the food is horrible, it’s expensive, etc. (In fact, I even once had a gastroenterologist tell me that the gluten-free diet is expensive!) These are gripes that are heard over and over among those people that must eat a gluten-free diet. The thing is, none of these complaints are absolute truths, and that’s what this series is all about – to help you learn how to live gluten-free easily (and frugally).

Today, I’m sharing some easy gluten-free solutions to those old standbys in the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) – convenience foods. Convenience foods can include everything from fast food and take-out, to frozen dinners, to packaged, pre-processed, or otherwise frankenfoods that fill up many a pantry and refrigerator throughout our country. Theses foods are not only commonly filled with gluten (which we said “goodbye” to on our gluten-free diets!), but also many times are loaded with sugar, corn syrup, refined flours, hydrogenated fats, and unpronounceable mystery ingredients, such as preservatives, artificial dyes, flavors, and other unnatural substances. These aren’t good for anyone’s body, but for someone that is healing a sensitive digestive system or other adverse effects from gluten, they can definitely slow the healing process.

But even those with the best of intentions know that the reason we reach for these foods is that they’re so gosh darn CONVENIENT! When we’re busier than ever with our lives, running from one task to the next, going to school, work, then homework, taking kids to 5,000 different places, and of course, trying to keep our home in some type of order, we all wish for meals to be as convenient as possible. How do you meet this goal and incorporate gluten-free living at the same time?

Make your own “convenience” foods!

Sounds counterproductive? It doesn’t have to be. With a few key tools at your arsenal, you can make some convenience foods for you and your family that can be available when you need them most – during those times when you literally have just a few minutes to prepare your meals. With a bit of planning, and the use of some of these ideas, you can transition those old convenience foods out of your pantry for better-tasting, better-for-you homemade “convenience” foods.

Cook In Bulk – Make large quantities of dishes, and freeze individual portions. Then you can have your own homemade “frozen” dinners available for convenience. Many soups reheat particularly well, and make great lunches. I do this on the weekends, when I have more time to cook, but I also tend to use my slow cooker to cook large portions both on weekends and weekdays.

If you don’t have a ton of freezer space, you can also cook in bulk for just the coming week or a few days. For instance, you can hard-boil eggs for breakfasts, lunches or snacks for the coming week. Make beef jerky for snacks, either in a dehydrator or the oven. Cut up carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, or any other raw veggie and divide into individual containers or ziploc bags for snacks or lunches for the week. (While you’re at it, if you have fresh vegetables on the menu for various other nights of the week, wash, peel, and prepare those vegetables for your recipes too, to save yourself time later!) Bake a batch of muffins, and individually wrap them for the week (muffins tend to freeze well too!). Make a batch of gluten-free oats, cream of buckwheat, quinoa flakes, or whatever porridge your heart desires, and store it in individual containers for the week. The more batch cooking and preparation you can do, the more time you’ll save when you’re having a hectic day. Just an hour or two in the kitchen on a Sunday can save your sanity on a busy Wednesday night.

Chicken Meatballs (freeze meatballs, cooked or uncooked, by spreading on a baking sheet and freezing, then place in ziploc bag)

Make your own condiments and “base” ingredients – Many condiments aren’t gluten-free, their gluten-free status is dubious, or they’re otherwise filled with corn syrup, sugar, or other processed ingredients. Does this mean we should do without? Of course not! Try your hand at making your own! I’ve fallen in love with making my own salad dressings, ketchup, pumpkin puree, nut butters, and even jams, jellies, and salsas. You’ll find when you start making your own that they taste better, fresher, and many times are cheaper to make. For example, I can find whole almonds for $5 a pound on sale, sometimes less. Try finding a 16 oz. jar of almond butter for the same price. Besides, when you make it yourself, you can customize the amount of sweetener and/or salt added, and can experiment with all sorts of nuts. Cinnamon walnut butter, anyone?

Gluten-Free Convenience Foods that are Relatively Free of Processed Ingredients – Generally, whole, fresh, unprocessed foods are best, and most of the time, that is what we eat in our home. It makes gluten-free living so much easier and less expensive. But there are a few “boxed” ingredients that are relatively free of preservatives and processed ingredients, and these ingredients can help streamline the meal-making process. I often keep these kinds of things on hand in my pantry, as “emergency” items, in case plans fall through.

Come to think of it, if you combined a few of these above items, (for example, top minute brown rice with a bag of mixed steamed frozen vegetables, and drained and rinsed beans, warmed and seasoned to taste) you could have a gluten-free meal in a few minutes. How’s that for convenient? Of course, with a little creativity, your options for convenient meals can be endless.

There you have it. Gluten-free can be more convenient than the masses would lead you to believe, and at a fraction of the price of those packaged, less-than-tasty gluten-free cookies, cakes, crackers, and other treats at the grocery. Making your own convenience foods can be healthier too!

Don’t forget to check back throughout the month for other great tips for Easy Gluten-Free Living! Here is the schedule:

Comments

I echo everything you’ve said, Alta! At first the rumors of how hard GF can be is frightening but, once you get into the swing of cooking for yourself it becomes a non-issue. And, the health benefits alone are worth the little bit of extra time you spend in the kitchen. I’m also a big fan of freezing foods so that I have easy dinners and lunches a few days each week. Great article!

Fantastic and beautifully illustrated post, Alta! Thanks for the link love, too. I say that this approach is really all a shift in thinking and once we start actually “doing” it, all becomes pretty easy. Love this series!

Excellent ideas Alta! I agree with Shirley, it’s all a matter of shifting your thinking and getting into a certain “groove.” One of may favorite things to make ahead of time are “eventually instant mashed potatoes.” Cook up a big batch, use a large ice cream scooper to make little mounds on a cookie sheet, stick in the freezer until solid then bag ’em up! When I need mashed potatoes in a jiffy, I just grab a few individual portions and nuke for a few minutes in the microwave, easy peasy!

What great ideas, Alta! I agree with everyone, you just have to shift your way of thinking of what “convenience” means… I know that the things that I think are so simple now are some of the things that my friends, who do not eat the way I do, think are a pain. But slowly, one by one, I have been converting them to my side (insert evil laugh here)!
Great post, my friend.

When you make pancakes, muffins, etc. measure dry ingredients into ziploc bags to use in the future. Take your home made mix out of the pantry, add the wet ingredients, and cook! I took pancake ingredients to Arizona and gluten free muffin ingredients to San Francisco and wowed my hosts! It takes a few more minutes and saves you many minutes in the future.

As you already know, I’m in LOVE with your Adzuki Beans and Rice recipe! I love your tip to prep ahead. Sunday is my cooking day. I make a few meals and freeze them in individual portions for quick grab and go for lunch boxes. The fridge also becomes a salad bar. If the veggies are pre-cleaned I’m much more apt to make a salad than if I have to wash everything after work. (That’s on a non-lazy Sunday…)

Being prepared is the key to success with changing eating habits no matter what you’re trying to accomplish (gluten-free, no sugar, weight loss – whatever). Doing the work ahead to make it easy later (so you don’t blow it) is so important and this post of yours is a gold mine of information. Hard boiled eggs are perfect snacks and so easy. Great reminder! And the beef jerky you mention is a good one as well. I make it in the summer for backpacking, but it’s perfect for having on hand at any time of the year. This is such a GOOD post, Alta! Convenience makes for success!
Melissa

What great ideas! I am totally trying the beef jerky. We LOVE beef jerky, but can’t stand all of the sugar they put into it. Yours sounds great. I’ll have to use the over method, though. No dehydrator.

And… you are a fabulous photographer. Great pictures. Totally jealous of your talent.

[…] Cut up carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, or any other raw veggie and divide into individual containers or ziploc bags for snacks or lunches for the week. (While you’re at it, if you have fresh vegetables on the menu for various other nights of the week, wash, peel, and prepare those vegetables for your recipes too, to save yourself time later!) Bake a batch of muffins , and individually wrap them for the week (muffins tend to freeze well too!). Make a batch of gluten-free oats, cream of buckwheat, quinoa flakes, or whatever porridge your heart desires, and store it in individual containers for the week. The more batch cooking and preparation you can do, the more time you’ll save when you’re having a hectic day. Just an hour or two in the kitchen on a Sunday can save your sanity on a busy Wednesday night. Tasty Eats at Home » 30 Days to Easy Gluten-Free Living: Make Your Own Convenience Foods […]

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